We frequently talk about digital transformation. We discuss how it affects business environments, as well as how it can be a challenge to stay relevant in a changing market. Businesses across industries are facing the same problems. They are looking for reliable solutions to address them. As a provider of such solutions, LANSA has been supporting IT departments in their modernization efforts for over three decades. With low-code tools like Visual LANSA, we help companies implement digital transformation projects and also realize the benefits of innovative technologies.
Generally, advice and recommendations on how to implement your digital transformation strategy and application modernization are often are perceived as detached from reality. Because of this, we have a real-world use case where LANSA tools helped a company succeed in modernizing its core business component. We will also tell you exactly how they did it.
Is there a B2B eCommerce platform for a leading manufacturer with a legacy website?
The company is Rotary Corporation. They are the world’s largest supplier of outdoor power equipment parts. Rotary produces hundreds of different parts and accessories for various kinds of outdoor power equipment, such as lawnmowers, chainsaws, and snow blowers. Their website consists of public corporate pages and, most importantly, an eCommerce platform for business customers. It needed a complete revamp to meet modern-day requirements.
Rotary’s original eCommerce website was launched in 2002 and relied on Lawson ERP to power key business processes. Even though the website was still functioning as intended, it was definitely showing its age. It lacked both in terms of design with an old-fashioned and rigid layout, and functionality. For example, it didn’t support website visitor statistics. It also had very limited in-site search capabilities due to a page issue that disabled search engine indexing. Finally, it had a number of other problems mostly caused by using a legacy ERP system. Worst of all, the old website wasn’t very flexible and didn’t allow the Rotary marketing team to create new pages or update existing ones.
Rotary was looking to develop a completely new website. It wanted a site powered by a flexible and easy to adopt the solution. That solution needed to support everything required of an eCommerce website in the Industry 4.0 era.
Why did Rotary pick LANSA?
Needless to say, the B2B eCommerce component was essential. Rotary’s whole business model depended on it. Choosing the right tool was a very important step. Upon reviewing a few offers from various vendors, Rotary’s marketing and IT teams selected LANSA Commerce Edition. They wanted a fully integrated self-service e-Commerce solution to easily create powerful B2C and B2B e-Commerce websites. They also wanted easily configurable and customizable pre-built components.
According to Caylee Bickmore, Web Marketing Coordinator at Rotary, they decided to go with LANSA’s product based on several key considerations. Primarily, they liked the LANSA Commerce Edition for its advanced tech. LANSA has continuously enhanced and perfected the product since its initial release in 2002. Rotary was also drawn to its ease of use simple integration with other systems. The LANSA Professional Services team’s extensive experience in successfully implementing similar projects was another decisive factor.
Are IBM i and LANSA Professional Services the recipe for success?
The implementation of this project was based on the project plan developed by LANSA Professional Services and involved a number of steps.
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Rotary chose the IBM i platform to power the website. It is a reliable and flexible enterprise solution supported by LANSA’s tools that simplify using this technology for companies.
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The professional services team installed a new version of LANSA Commerce Edition on top of IBM i. They easily transferred all the customizations that were part of Rotary’s previous solutions to the new system.
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Web design elements, created by a third-party digital agency, were quickly implemented in LANSA’s presentation layer.
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The new website implemented a number of previously unavailable functions, such as the ability to add new responsive web pages in the CMS, the support of page customization and templates, dynamically launched YouTube video content, Google Analytics integration, and so on.
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The team migrated rich product data previously held in an isolated PC FoxPro database to the same platform that hosts Rotary’s ERP system.
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Rotary built a modern web application to maintain the data and serve as the starting point for an internal web framework that centralizes user authentication and authorization for Rotary employees.
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New technologies allowed the implementation of a range of new features and capabilities for Rotary’s business customers. Sophisticated product filtering and searches, rich product data, product dealer locator, order tracking and importance, PDF invoice access, multiple payment methods, and many other components.
Rotary also used LANSA Integrator, ePayment, PDF document creation, and automated distribution of email order confirmations and invoices.
How can Rotary’s results inspire your business?
The project, conducted by LANSA Professional Services in coordination with Rotary’s management, marketing team, and the design agency, was a success. It provided Rotary with a long-awaited technological platform that met its modern business needs.
All stakeholders approved the final result. The company’s top management was happy to receive a fresh modern-looking website that established the Rotary brand as the leader in its market. Rotary’s Marketing team and IT department were pleased the new platform made their work easier. Finally, Rotary’s business clients welcomed the improved capabilities and higher control over the content.
Is there a Customer Spotlight video for Rotary?
Want to learn about this particular project in more detail? Check out this YouTube video featuring Rotary’s Kyleen Brannen. She presents Rotary’s take on this project, its results, and lessons they learned in the process.
How can your business take advantage of Visual LANSA?
Now that you’ve seen how Rotary has achieved success with LANSA Professional Services and Visual LANSA contact us to see how we can help with your project.
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